Retailers at the point of sale frequently ask shoppers for their phone number in order to track their purchases and offer them special bonuses when their purchases reach a certain target. The customer's phone number is typically used to look up address information so that the retailer can send the customer coupons and promotions by mail. Compared to the cost of a phone call, the cost of the mail campaign and the cost of printing the promotional materials can be higher.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for enabling retailers to send promotional announcements to customers in a packet network, e.g., a VoIP network.